last week, the baby goats were born, and everyone rejoiced. they are incredibly cute. john took us over to visit them (they're in a different pasture) and they were tinier than we imagined; so small, in fact, that you could pick them up and pet them. the poor things were such messes that they could barely stand up properly. one of them fell flat on its belly. so cute. i think there were about 5 total, with more on the way.
while we were there, the baby goats were getting milk from their mammas. however, for some reason, a couple of the mammas weren't taking to the whole milk-giving process. apparently farmer john says its really painful, and some are in more pain than others. john has to basically force the mammas to stay still sot he babies can drink. but when he's not around, sometimes the mammas kick the babies away so they can't drink the milk, and unfortunately, this can actually kill the babies.
luckily, no babies were outright murdered. however, we were informed that one of the babies that we met died because it didn't get enough milk. sniff. that was the only baby that this particular mamma had, and farmer john moved that mamma over to our pasture here. she came here late last night and has been crying, non-stop, all day long. i think the other goats are getting irritated with her because they've been beating her up. i know, insult to injury, right. we heard her crying incessantly this evening so we went outside, convinced we were going to find her hanging from a tree or something, but instead she just stood there staring at us, crying loudly. then, from a corner of the pasture i saw blackie, another goat, back up and charge at her, ramming her with her head and knocking her against the house. vicious beast. the next thing i knew, two other goats got into the act and began to beat her up too.
its a sad state of affairs right now for this little goatling. i'm sure the other goats are giving her a hard time too because she's a newbie, but its very sad to hear those cries echoing out from the pasture all night long, knowing not only that she's mourning her baby, but that she's also getting bullied.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
photos!
blog viewers! a beautiful day has arrived. that is, today - july 10, 2008 - "jim" came to install our antenna, which means we actually have internet access that runs at a decent speed. this means i can upload my photos and videos for your viewing pleasure, and that makes me happy.
as you could imagine, i'm backlogged right now, so i'll just put up a few at a time. i'm sure that those of you who read yesterday's blog are eager to hear if mother m was posted, and i'm happy to report that yes, she was. so just go to yesterday's post and you can take a look at what i saw in the shower. i feel that the similarities are glaringly obvious, but in case you require clarification, don't hesitate to ask.
a brief update: today was 110 degrees and painful. luckily, we packed boxes for the CSA today and we decided to do that in the large walk-in fridge, which was great. we were in there for hours. however, the heat still got to me and i came home and collapsed for an hour, virtually incapable of getting back up. i developed a headache later on, and have been pretty irritable all day. it hasn't been the best day, honestly; i crave civilization and time alone (contradictory?). thankfully, i have a 4 hour train ride to berkeley this weekend to look forward to, and an entire week of being in a more bustling environment. i'm getting very upset that i can't get off this farm. we're literally trapped here. although everyone has been nice and helpful about taking us places that we need to go, it would be nice not to have to wait until we "need" something to leave. walking is too far, the bicycles are broken (we tried to get them fixed but can't seem to find help with this), and we're usually able to get a ride into town but can't find one back. its extremely frustrating. sometimes all i want to do is go to town on a wednesday night and eat some mexican food, then come back and go to bed. nothing extravagant, but nonetheless impossible. i'm steaming over it.
anyway, i must try to remain positive or else i'll crumble, and i know that. so that's the plan. 1.5 more days of work and i'm out of here for 8 days.
here are those pictures i promised:
i would like to post more, but the internet is pretty slow, and i don't have patience right now with the heat and all of these damned flies. also i'm sorry the photos above are all staggered and weird. fuck it is what i say. i don't know why they look that way and after 30 minutes of trying to figure it out, i don't care.
hi.
i'm going to bed. hope you enjoy the photos, few though there are. i'll post the rest tomorrow if i make it till then.
as you could imagine, i'm backlogged right now, so i'll just put up a few at a time. i'm sure that those of you who read yesterday's blog are eager to hear if mother m was posted, and i'm happy to report that yes, she was. so just go to yesterday's post and you can take a look at what i saw in the shower. i feel that the similarities are glaringly obvious, but in case you require clarification, don't hesitate to ask.
a brief update: today was 110 degrees and painful. luckily, we packed boxes for the CSA today and we decided to do that in the large walk-in fridge, which was great. we were in there for hours. however, the heat still got to me and i came home and collapsed for an hour, virtually incapable of getting back up. i developed a headache later on, and have been pretty irritable all day. it hasn't been the best day, honestly; i crave civilization and time alone (contradictory?). thankfully, i have a 4 hour train ride to berkeley this weekend to look forward to, and an entire week of being in a more bustling environment. i'm getting very upset that i can't get off this farm. we're literally trapped here. although everyone has been nice and helpful about taking us places that we need to go, it would be nice not to have to wait until we "need" something to leave. walking is too far, the bicycles are broken (we tried to get them fixed but can't seem to find help with this), and we're usually able to get a ride into town but can't find one back. its extremely frustrating. sometimes all i want to do is go to town on a wednesday night and eat some mexican food, then come back and go to bed. nothing extravagant, but nonetheless impossible. i'm steaming over it.
anyway, i must try to remain positive or else i'll crumble, and i know that. so that's the plan. 1.5 more days of work and i'm out of here for 8 days.
here are those pictures i promised:
i would like to post more, but the internet is pretty slow, and i don't have patience right now with the heat and all of these damned flies. also i'm sorry the photos above are all staggered and weird. fuck it is what i say. i don't know why they look that way and after 30 minutes of trying to figure it out, i don't care.
hi.
i'm going to bed. hope you enjoy the photos, few though there are. i'll post the rest tomorrow if i make it till then.
the virgin in a strand of hair
I didn't think it was possible, but the virgin mary appeared to me today in the shower. As I was lathering up, I noticed something was on the vinyl showercurtain. I didn't pay any attention to it though. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw it again, and I realized what it was: a strand of my roommate Emily's hair, curled up to look like an image of none other than the virgin mary.
Trust me, I too felt this was weird. I kept looking at it from various angles, convinced I had made this up. Surely it was an illusion. But no, there was a distinct similarity between this strand of hair and typical images of the blessed mother that we are used to seeing.
I know what you're thinking. "Michele has gone off the deep end." "We're flying to California and getting her off that damned farm." "Perhaps 12 years of Catholic school was a bit excessive..?"
I can hear all these thoughts rattling through your minds. Think them. They won't break me.
I've got #1 in my shower. The uterus to end all uteruses.
And don't fret; there are photos. In a few, she disappeared. Guess she does that in the ones she doesn't like. (I wish I had that power.) In others, the ones without the flash, she appeared in full glory.
I haven't decided what the point of all of this is just yet. But surely it means something. While I figure it all out, my best advice to you is to watch out for stray hairs on your showercurtain. You never know where your next religious experience may come from.
Trust me, I too felt this was weird. I kept looking at it from various angles, convinced I had made this up. Surely it was an illusion. But no, there was a distinct similarity between this strand of hair and typical images of the blessed mother that we are used to seeing. I know what you're thinking. "Michele has gone off the deep end." "We're flying to California and getting her off that damned farm." "Perhaps 12 years of Catholic school was a bit excessive..?"
I can hear all these thoughts rattling through your minds. Think them. They won't break me.
I've got #1 in my shower. The uterus to end all uteruses.
And don't fret; there are photos. In a few, she disappeared. Guess she does that in the ones she doesn't like. (I wish I had that power.) In others, the ones without the flash, she appeared in full glory.
I haven't decided what the point of all of this is just yet. But surely it means something. While I figure it all out, my best advice to you is to watch out for stray hairs on your showercurtain. You never know where your next religious experience may come from.
Monday, July 7, 2008
HOT
friends: don't be fooled. it has officially gotten HOT in the central valley of california. i don't quite understand what's going on though, because suddenly the "dry heat" that i had heard so many precious things about has become a dripping, sodden blanket draped over our bodies from head to toe. one cannot leave the house without walking into a tunnel of moisture. so, not only is it 100 degrees, but its as wet as can be. california! what the hell?
i'm bitter, as you can see. dry heat my tuckus.
so today, this is what we faced. we woke up, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and headed out the door. (ok, perhaps that's a slight exaggeration) but we did indeed head out the door, ready for a new day of tasks and trials and triumphs. we picked squash and cucumbers as has become our routine, and this went fairly well. but then we moved onto the bean picking. we have four rows of beans. two green, two yellow. they're fun; i like them because it takes a distinguishing hand to tell the difference between a bean that's plump and just firm enough to be picked and a bean that needs a couple of more days of sun. although i like picking beans, i must emphasize the sheer number of plants we have to work with. maybe 200? either way, LOTS.
so, emily and i dove into bean duty, but after about 45 minutes she began to break out. apparently emily has an allergy to bean plants! she then went to pick peaches instead while i stayed on the beans. pick, pick, pick. out there in the field, the sun just beats down on you. sure, it was 7:45. it didn't matter. it was still hot as hell and only getting hotter. thankfully, in a few minutes, ivan came over to help out, but then we got interrupted to go and transplant melons, winter & summer squash, and cucumbers.
and so the morning came and went much like this. i rotated back and forth between bean picking and melon/squash/cuke transplanting, emily dealt with peaches and then right before lunch we came together to work on planting lettuce seeds. we normally do planting when its really hot out so that we can get a break. we do it inside of the shed where its usually a little cooler. but today there was no escaping the heat. you see, there was no breeze; and without a breeze, you're basically sucking steam. not pleasant. we took a lunch break, then went back into the shed to finish this task off, and were joyfully interrupted by a phone call from farmer john who told us to take the afternoon off because it was so hot. putting the phone down i noticed the sheen of sweat that had formed on my arms. i felt like a human slip and slide.
so we came inside, showered, and rested. thankfully its cool in the house. we don't have air conditioning, but somehow the house stays cool, and all i can do is praise god for that little mystery. because of the crazy temperatures expected for this week (110!), farmer john told us to start work at 5:30 beginning tomorrow. thus, such will happen. its 8:45 right now and i should have been in bed about 15 minutes ago. tomorrow i need to get to bed on time.
though i may complain, i'm still enjoying myself. i've gotten to the point where i no longer feel like a visitor but rather like this is what my life actually consists of. i'm trying hard to get into the moment and not be distracted by the past or future. its difficult, but the intense heat and work help me to stay focused.
i'm bitter, as you can see. dry heat my tuckus.
so today, this is what we faced. we woke up, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and headed out the door. (ok, perhaps that's a slight exaggeration) but we did indeed head out the door, ready for a new day of tasks and trials and triumphs. we picked squash and cucumbers as has become our routine, and this went fairly well. but then we moved onto the bean picking. we have four rows of beans. two green, two yellow. they're fun; i like them because it takes a distinguishing hand to tell the difference between a bean that's plump and just firm enough to be picked and a bean that needs a couple of more days of sun. although i like picking beans, i must emphasize the sheer number of plants we have to work with. maybe 200? either way, LOTS.
so, emily and i dove into bean duty, but after about 45 minutes she began to break out. apparently emily has an allergy to bean plants! she then went to pick peaches instead while i stayed on the beans. pick, pick, pick. out there in the field, the sun just beats down on you. sure, it was 7:45. it didn't matter. it was still hot as hell and only getting hotter. thankfully, in a few minutes, ivan came over to help out, but then we got interrupted to go and transplant melons, winter & summer squash, and cucumbers.
and so the morning came and went much like this. i rotated back and forth between bean picking and melon/squash/cuke transplanting, emily dealt with peaches and then right before lunch we came together to work on planting lettuce seeds. we normally do planting when its really hot out so that we can get a break. we do it inside of the shed where its usually a little cooler. but today there was no escaping the heat. you see, there was no breeze; and without a breeze, you're basically sucking steam. not pleasant. we took a lunch break, then went back into the shed to finish this task off, and were joyfully interrupted by a phone call from farmer john who told us to take the afternoon off because it was so hot. putting the phone down i noticed the sheen of sweat that had formed on my arms. i felt like a human slip and slide.
so we came inside, showered, and rested. thankfully its cool in the house. we don't have air conditioning, but somehow the house stays cool, and all i can do is praise god for that little mystery. because of the crazy temperatures expected for this week (110!), farmer john told us to start work at 5:30 beginning tomorrow. thus, such will happen. its 8:45 right now and i should have been in bed about 15 minutes ago. tomorrow i need to get to bed on time.
though i may complain, i'm still enjoying myself. i've gotten to the point where i no longer feel like a visitor but rather like this is what my life actually consists of. i'm trying hard to get into the moment and not be distracted by the past or future. its difficult, but the intense heat and work help me to stay focused.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
the return
Hello all! I have returned from my journey to Monterey. Albert and I pulled up last night at around 11:45pm. The front door was locked (I'm convinced they did this to play a joke on me because I always lock doors as a crazy NY'er and they just laugh). I had to use the side door which forced me into an encounter with what I believe was a frog. I'm not sure it was a frog, though. Regardless, it was a rather pitiful creature as it actually jumped into a closed door a couple of times before it realized it should go a different way. Rather humorous.
Albert left immediately for LA because of his piano gig on Sunday mornings. Poor thing only slept 4 hrs. But our trip was fabulous and I will post pictures and a play-by-play early this week! Our internet is still down so I'm blogging from my phone again. I haven't decided if I'm really dedicated to this thing or just a flat-out loser. Hmm...
I feel so refreshed after our trip. I spent today relaxing, eating great meals that Shelby cooked (breakfast burritos then later burgers with roasted garlic, basil and goat cheese). Later on I got in about an hour of reading and then Emily and I made yogurt right after John finished milking the goats. Then, perhaps the climax of the day was being presented with the birthday cake that Emily made me!
The girl is amazing because, well, (1) she made me a cake and (2) WE DON'T HAVE AN OVEN! Seems impossible? Get this! She made pancakes and stacked them on top of each other to form the cake. She put icing and strawberries in between the layers (probably 7 in total) then covered it in icing and more strawberries. Insane! What's more is that MOST of the cake was made from stuff from the farm. She made the batter with regular flour but used our goat's milk; the strawberries are grown right here; and the icing was made using the chevre and sour cream we made and mixing it with confectioner's sugar. It was pretty and delicious!! Thanks again, Emily! :)
We ate it while watching Labyrinth, a movie given to me by Jenn starring none other than the love of my life, David Bowie. I really enjoyed the movie. It was a little weird, but not so weird that it lost my attention. I thought it was engaging and fun. And of course, I got to indulge in DB for awhile.
I will post a photo of the birthday cake as soon as we have internet again. Should be Tuesday, but I'll let you know when its up.
Right now its way past my bedtime. I may start biking in the mornings before work this week. I'll keep you posted.
Albert left immediately for LA because of his piano gig on Sunday mornings. Poor thing only slept 4 hrs. But our trip was fabulous and I will post pictures and a play-by-play early this week! Our internet is still down so I'm blogging from my phone again. I haven't decided if I'm really dedicated to this thing or just a flat-out loser. Hmm...
I feel so refreshed after our trip. I spent today relaxing, eating great meals that Shelby cooked (breakfast burritos then later burgers with roasted garlic, basil and goat cheese). Later on I got in about an hour of reading and then Emily and I made yogurt right after John finished milking the goats. Then, perhaps the climax of the day was being presented with the birthday cake that Emily made me!
The girl is amazing because, well, (1) she made me a cake and (2) WE DON'T HAVE AN OVEN! Seems impossible? Get this! She made pancakes and stacked them on top of each other to form the cake. She put icing and strawberries in between the layers (probably 7 in total) then covered it in icing and more strawberries. Insane! What's more is that MOST of the cake was made from stuff from the farm. She made the batter with regular flour but used our goat's milk; the strawberries are grown right here; and the icing was made using the chevre and sour cream we made and mixing it with confectioner's sugar. It was pretty and delicious!! Thanks again, Emily! :)We ate it while watching Labyrinth, a movie given to me by Jenn starring none other than the love of my life, David Bowie. I really enjoyed the movie. It was a little weird, but not so weird that it lost my attention. I thought it was engaging and fun. And of course, I got to indulge in DB for awhile.
I will post a photo of the birthday cake as soon as we have internet again. Should be Tuesday, but I'll let you know when its up.
Right now its way past my bedtime. I may start biking in the mornings before work this week. I'll keep you posted.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Monterey!
Hello all! Just so you know, I have headed to Monterey, CA for the weekend. Woohoo! My friend Albert from my undergrad came up to meet me in Firebaugh and whisked me away! His birthday is July 4th and mine is July 5th, of the same year. We've always celebrated together from afar but never in the same place. This year its all changing.
Monterey is gorgeous. Seeing the ocean turned me into a pool. I love, love the ocean.
The air is clear, the sand is white, the water is blue. I'm with one of my best friends, I'm going to eat some incredibly fresh fish, and tonight we'll watch some fireworks over the Pacific. I love life!
I hope that you too are having a wonderful 4th of July! :)
Monterey is gorgeous. Seeing the ocean turned me into a pool. I love, love the ocean.
The air is clear, the sand is white, the water is blue. I'm with one of my best friends, I'm going to eat some incredibly fresh fish, and tonight we'll watch some fireworks over the Pacific. I love life!
I hope that you too are having a wonderful 4th of July! :)
Thursday, July 3, 2008
its starting to taste like summer
when i arrived here a few weeks ago, i had heard about a mysterious tomato field about a mile away that contained both tomatoes and basil. the tomato plants weren't ready yet, and the basil was just getting bigger. emily and i had no access to the tomato field, mainly because we didn't know where it was. then, about a week ago, shelby showed us where it was hiding and we ventured off in the mule
(the 'mule' is a vehicle that we use to drive around the ranch - see photo) to check things out for ourselves. you see, our farm has apparently been very well known for its heirloom tomatoes in the past, shipping them around the country, to whole foods, and supplying area chefs in fresno and monterey. in fact, the variety of tomatoes listed on our website was one of the big selling points for my wanting to come here. check it out for yourself.when emily and i visited the field, we found a few tomatoes; but really, just a few. maybe a handful in total. this was monday night, i believe. (to be fair, we didn't check out the entire field, but maybe only 1/3) today, however, was CSA day: the day that the boxes are filled and delivered to our CSA memebers. farmer john has some of his other workers help us on thursdays, and shortly past 11 am, jesus pulled up in the mule with 5 trays of tomatoes and 2 massive buckets of basil. unreal! there were tomatoes of all sizes and colors and shapes. i was amazed, and couldn't help but think, where were all of these on monday? did they just grow in the last 3 days? ahhh! tomato overload!
well no, not really. at noon we took our break, and i decided that for lunch, i would have a tomato and goat cheese salad. i sliced a maroon tomato fairly thick and its juice ran down my arm a dark crimson. it looked like a beet on the inside! wow. i had some leftover mozzarella, and also some of the fresh chevre that emily and i made (i coated some in black pepper and used it for the salad). i topped it all off with a chiffonade of basil and some balsamic vinegar, olive oil and touch of salt.
it was the most perfect lunch. light, fresh, beautiful.
our counter is now filled with a variety of tomatoes. we've taste-tested them all and we have our favorites. currently, mine is the green zebra. they are green and orange and are a little more tart than your average tomato, but have a really strong tomato taste that you wouldn't expect just by looking at them.
the best part of all of this is that these are the season's "first tomatoes", and according to farmer john, they don't compare whatsoever to what is going to come next. he keeps telling us to "just wait". i'm not sure if i can handle the suspense.
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